Irina Kolesnikova is the prima ballerina with St Petersburg Ballet Theatre. Outside of her homeland she has long been hailed as a star and, as she tells GAVIN ALLEN, the purist Russian ballet critics are finally beginning to agree as she celebrates her 10th anniversary on stage

IN the ferociously competitive world of Russian Ballet – a source of national pride – without the endorsement of the Bolshoi, Musorgsky or Mariinsky companies, you are nothing.

So when Irina Kolesnikova performs at the Wales Millennium Centre this weekend in a gala performance celebrating her 10th anniversary on the world stage, her achievement is all the more remarkable for it.

Kolesnikova was schooled at the renowned Vaganova Ballet Academy but she hated her time there, recalling how her teacher often humiliated her and made her feel ugly and untalented. By the time she graduated in 1998, Kolesnikova’s confidence was shattered and no-one at Mariinsky or Musorgsky Theatre (the second biggest company in her hometown of St Petersburg) was interested in hiring her.

However, a chance encounter with a former classmate convinced her to try her arabesques with the smaller St Petersburg Ballet Theatre (SPBT). Its founder and director, Konstantin Tachkin, recognised her talent immediately.

Kolesnikova, lauded for her perfect technique, is now a genuine star on the world stage but recognition in Russia has been harder to come by.

“People in Russia regard Bolshoi and Mariinsky as the best ballet companies, and therefore only recognise the dancers within the company,” explains Kolesnikova, 27.

“Initially, the press there thought that only dancers from these two companies could be the best dancers in Russia and that no-one else could be perfect.

“However, this year we have noticed a change and the press are becoming more accepting to other companies and dancers.

“Hopefully I have helped change their opinions.”

In the end, her rejection by the highest profile ballet companies in Russia has worked in her favour.

“I danced more performances then I would have for either of those companies,” explains Kolesnikova.

“There is a lot of competition within the two companies, between all the dancers, and younger dancers are rarely given the opportunities that I had dancing with SPBT.

“There are a lot of prima ballerinas in Bolshoi and Mariinsky and talented young dancers may have to wait their turn to dance solo – there is a queue! “But in SPBT really talented dancers get their chance. I danced as Odette-Odile in Swan Lake at 19 years old, when this may not have happened until I was 23 in Bolshoi.”

She will once again step into the block-toed shoes of Odette-Odile in Swan Lake at Wales Millennium Centre tomorrow but on Saturday SPBT will honour her 10 year stage anniversary with a gala night.

“It’s strange,” she says, when asked how it felt to be recognised by her peers after years of being under-appreciated in her homeland.

“I didn’t realise I was ‘a star’ until I was being interviewed by the BBC during a performance at the Albert Hall last year. I thought I was just a dancer.

“I’m lucky enough to sell out performances on my name and talent, rather than people buying tickets just because of the company name.

“But being a star just increases the responsibility I have when appearing on stage. They are paying to see me dance and I try and give them my best possible performance.”

While Kolesnikova admits to having tired of the role of Odette-Odile on a tour of South Africa last year, where she took a two-week break from performing, she shows no signs of permanently stepping back from her duties as prima ballerina.

“It is a huge privilege,” she says.

“You can express emotion on stage and make the audience feel as you do. You have freedom to interpret, change or add qualities to a role which hopefully adds to the enjoyment for the audience.

“It is a tough regime and you have to work hard otherwise you and your body cannot perform at your best. But I take pleasure in the roles I have danced.